City adopts animal plan

THE City of Greater Bendigo has adopted a new Domestic Animal Management Plan (DAMP) and a new Keeping of Animals Local Law with the help of feedback from residents during a recent community engagement process.

City of Greater Bendigo mayor Cr Thomas Prince said the City has a legislative requirement under the Domestic Animals Act 1994 to prepare a DAMP every four years, with this being the fifth it has adopted.

“Local Law 2, which has several clauses relating to the keeping of domestic animals, must also be reviewed every 10 years to ensure it meets community expectations and relevancy,” the mayor said.

“The DAMP 2026-2029 builds on the achievements and work from the previous four plans, which established a framework to guide future service programs and actions.

“This latest review of the DAMP was focused largely on maintaining current initiatives and monitoring their effectiveness to ensure they continue to deliver meaningful outcomes for the community, following the significant changes that were made in the previous version.”

Following the community consultation process there have been no significant changes made to the draft document.

However, changes to the draft Local Law have included some additional amendments being made to the poultry keeping section to ensure that the criteria for assessing permit applications are kept appropriate and well-considered.

The Domestic Animal Management Plan 2026-2029 is available to view online with the new Keeping of Animals Local Law coming into effect on 1 January next year.

Find out more on the COGB website.